


Realm of My Love

by serendipitousDescent



Series: Drabble Challenge [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, F/F, Pre-Relationship, Realm Hopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 14:29:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16477319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitousDescent/pseuds/serendipitousDescent
Summary: If this doesn’t work, then Rin will slowly bring the books stacked ceiling-high in her bedroom back to the library. And she hates even the thought of abandoning her new found magic, but she’ll ask Kushina to tutor her instead of fumbling through these texts alone.Success is her only option, regardless of how long or difficult the path.





	Realm of My Love

If this doesn’t work, Rin reasons to herself, then she has no choice but to give up.

Well, not  _ give up _ in the truest sense of the phrase. Giving up implies that Kakashi is right about Obito being dead. It implies that she intends on letting go of her best friend, and the only way that will happen is if she’s six feet under.

No, if this doesn’t work, then Rin will slowly bring the books stacked ceiling-high in her bedroom back to the library. And she hates even the thought of abandoning her new found magic, but she’ll ask Kushina to tutor her instead of fumbling through these texts alone. 

Giving up, in its truest sense, means she has to accept that bringing Obito back to this plane of existence is currently outside of her abilities. It means playing the long game, instead of burning through shortcuts.

Success is her only option, regardless of how long or difficult the path. 

Determination doesn’t stop her from grimacing when she dips her index finger into a bowl of cow’s blood, though. Her magic sparks with intention, but - well, finger-painting with blood can be added to the list of things Obito needs to make up to her. Right alongside a year of worrying about him, her quickly dwindling social life, and the knowledge that she isn’t as squeamish as perhaps she should be. 

The air around the mirror clears when Rin inches towards it. Sage burns around her, filling the room with hazy smoke, but the ornate details of curling vines and the reflection of the ceiling above could not be clearer. 

Blood drips onto the floor as she hesitates, the crackle of power making her inhale sharply.

Spells like this require a lot of magic. More magic than Rin has locked inside her, according to every magical tome she’s gotten her hands on, but she refuses to let that stop her. If this spell drains her of everything she has, then that will be the price she pays.

Any price is worth bringing Obito back. 

That reminder steadies Rin, and she touches the oak floorboards, dragging her fingers down in a resolute line, then reaches for the blood once more. Her nerves spark from the magical overload, but she draws another line, then another after that. 

The book Rin is meant to copy sits off to the side, open to a sketch of the symbols she draws, but not once does she glance towards it. Its existence is unnecessary, because the runes come to her as she works, as clearly as if they were written upon her very bones. An outsider might consider her a natural mage. Either that or something more unnatural than she can contemplate right now.

But written upon the bottom of the open page is a note, one Rin has read a few dozen times over. This spell, unique in its ability to open doors, requires two hours to prepare. Two hours to muster up the magic for the various runes surrounding an iron mirror, to breathe in the smoke and contemplate exactly where the user wants to go. 

It does not take Rin two hours. 

Each rune passes a bit faster than the one before it. Each moment passes in a haze, indescribable in a way that Rin cannot begin to guess how much time she spends drawing out runes, how long she sits there before she forgets about the cow’s blood. Then the mirror begins to vibrate in rhythm with her heartbeat, and any attempt to regain herself becomes useless. 

Rin lifts her fingers from the floor for the last time, and the mirror’s reflection turns hazy in front of her eyes. Her breath catches as she scrambles forward, reaching for its iron frame. 

Only at the last moment does Rin remember not to touch the mirror - not yet, at least. Being pulled inside will defeat the purpose of this spell, because even if she’s wherever Obito is, Obito won’t be  _ here _ , and that makes all the difference. Their lives are here, not-

Her train of thought crashes to a stop as the mirror begins to clear, and she leans forward, a lump heavy in the back of her throat.

This is it.

This is what she’s been working towards since Obito got caught in that magical backlash, since she stumbled upon her abilities. 

This is… 

This is a woman, Rin realizes as she blinks slowly. A gorgeous woman, at that. 

A low whine fills the air around her, right before her cheeks turn a brilliant red. But not before her gaze drops a few inches, eagerly taking in the sight before her. No one should have an ass like that, not without being arrested for indecency. 

The only way this could be worse is if the woman were naked. Although, the treated leather already leaves little to the imagination - except that Rin can perfectly imagine undoing each complicated belt and letting them fall to the ground. She has lectured Kakashi about outwardly wondering whether a woman’s drapes match the rug more times than she can count, but-

But blue isn’t a natural hair colour in this world, and Rin craves that knowledge. The journey of finding out would even be more fun than she’s had all year. And after being cooped up in her room, throwing herself onto any magical text she could get her hands on, a bit of fun is the least she deserves. 

Then the woman sighs, although her straight shoulders do not drop so much as an inch, and Rin comes falling back to reality. 

“Obito!” Rin blurts out, and the flush of her cheeks immediately darkens. 

If Obito were here, which he should have been, he would be laughing himself to the point of exhaustion. Even before the woman turns and Rin whimpers. A dusty iron mirror and the length of a room may separate them, but it is still all too easy to make out the curve of her lips and warm golden eyes. 

Gorgeous with a generous dose of regal, all with a strength that leaves Rin as a flustered pile of emotion. Maybe if she hopes hard enough, the floor will open up beneath her before she does anything else embarrassing. 

Sooner rather than later would be preferable, because Rin cannot look away as the woman walks towards her. That gaze is too captivating to even think about looking elsewhere. 

“How do you know that name?” The woman’s voice rings through the air like bells, authority packed into each word. “State your intention, stranger.” 

“My intent - of course I know his name! What sort of best friend would I…” 

Her question trails off as the woman stands tall, unwavering. The opposite reaction of anyone Rin has mentioned Obito to this past year. No one would be so defensive over the identity of a dead man. No one would narrow their eyes at her if Obito were a corpse. 

“He’s alive, isn’t he?” Rin breathes out. Those words feel lighter than anything she’s said or done in so long, the weight on her chest that she had long since forgotten now gone. “I mean, of course Obito is alive. I knew he would be. It’s just that-” 

“You’re Rin, aren’t you?” 

Rin can’t help the wavering smile as she slumps forward, one hand holding her up. “He mentioned me.”

“I am hard-pressed to think of a time when he is not preoccupied with you, Rin Nohara.” The corners of the woman’s lips lift in what is nearly a smile, only for the expression to fade as she glances over her shoulder at the door. “Unfortunately, Obito left this morning. The practice of magic must be new to you.” 

“Yes, but-” 

“Any formal training would have allowed you to go directly to him. Even a puddle would have sufficed, but instead, you came to me.” 

Rin bristles, caught between embarrassment and indignation. Being new at magic isn’t something to be ashamed of, because magic  _ is _ new to her. Except that echoes the mocking tone she’s used on Kakashi and Obito more times than she can count. Both of them fought to control their own abilities, all while she assumed a natural skill at healing was the only thing at her disposal. 

“I do not mean to offend,” the woman continues, her voice lowering. “Obito has been a valuable ally these past few months, and you are interesting, if nothing else.” 

“If nothing - excuse me!” Heat fills her cheeks, this time not of flustered embarrassment, but of frustration. “Just bring Obito here, so I can bring him home already. Then you won’t have to deal with me ever again.” 

“Konan.” 

Rin blinks, her mouth left agape as she’s thrown off guard at the sudden change in conversation. “What?” 

“My name.” Konan watches her carefully, and Rin should have noticed how dangerous she looks before now. Confidence as easy as that is hard won, not something natural to anyone. “And I refuse your offer.” 

“Hey! Obito deserves-” 

Rin forces back her protest as Konan steps forward and the world slows around them. Realms cannot separate them here, nevermind the glass of a mirror or a handful of feet. What Obito does or does not deserve is miniscule compared to the surge in Rin’s magic, compared to keeping control as she notices the light dusting of freckles across Konan’s nose.

Then Konan reaches out, her long fingers finding no resistance in the glass nor in Rin. Even a protest fails her as Konan grasps her shirt collar and pulls, the bloody runes surrounding the mirror making her lose her grip. 

This spell had been mentioned in three different tomes that Rin found.

Three tomes. 

Of those three, only one mentioned that the portal could be a two-way passage. With specific training and more preparation than the book outlined for her. One showed her the exact runes to draw. And the last warned her not to touch the mirror throughout the duration of the spell for any reason.

None of them prepare Rin for the feeling of glass turning to liquid around, like stepping through a waterfall without the water. None of them allow her to comprehend what creating a portal means before that moment.

Warmth greets her just as she takes in a gasping breath, magic slamming into her like it never has before. Too much, Rin wants to say, but even that is too difficult to manage. Everything is, except for the glaring except of the arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her in place. 

“I will not apologize for this,” comes the even-leveled words from above her. “We cannot afford to lose Obito’s support now.”

Rin shudders at the weight of Konan’s words. This is-

“But I do hope you learn to love this place as I do,” Konan finishes.

-another realm.


End file.
